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A welcome upgrade.

The Wii control system was a revelation when it came out, but once the novelty passed, the limitations of the motion-detection setup were exposed somewhat; there were games and moments when the control wasn't quite sophisticated and subtle enough - and this is the gap that the Motion Plus attachment plugs.

Nintendo have done this before - releasing an expansion pack to beef up the N64's capabilities - and this is much the same principle. The motion plus add-on itself is a pretty small, inconsequential-looking thing, but it does make a difference. For games which require real fine control, it's a godsend. The attachment converts the standard Wii remote into something capable of replicating fine movements, from delicate taps with a golf club to putting spin on table tennis shots.

Attaching the device is easy - there's a slot at the base of the controller into which the Motion Plus plugs, snapping in without difficulty. This means your existing jacket doesn't fit any more, but there's another one available that fits the larger size of the remote.

For a tenner or so, this represents pretty good value. It makes the whole Wii experience more immersive and enjoyable, and sidesteps some of those little difficulties and limitations, making the Wii the console it should be.

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Not widely used enough to make an essential purchase

The Wii Motion Plus is a little gadget which you can plug into the bottom of your wiimote, where the connector for the nunchuck usually goes, to obtain extra information about the controllers movements to better gauge the orientation of the wii remote. You can still plug the nunchuck into the bottom of the motion plus extension. It should be noted that this accessory will only provide extra accuracy for games that actually support the peripheral, so be sure to check your software to see if the motion plus is either required or if it will give extra accuracy.

The wiimote works by using acceleration to measure movement up to a fixed amount (3 gs i think) . It should be noted that gravity is a force acting on the wiimote, so a wiimote that doesn't move will always indicate the direction of gravity, which is how some tilt games like Monkey Ball etc. work. It also means that as you begin to move the wiimote, the wiimote no longer knows the direction of gravity and so it doesn't know which way is down and can therefore no longer accurately reports its orientation.

With the wiimotion plus, not only linear acceleration is recorded, but angular acceleration is also detected. This means, using clever tracking, we can use the rotational information to tell us which way down is, theoretically allowing us to detection the orientation of the wiimote during movements. Unfortunately, this requires the user to calibrate the wiimote to a stationary position first, and the wiimote also suffers from a phenomenan called Yaw Drift, which effectively means that over time, the orientation gets less accurate as it can no longer detect which way is forwards, although pointing the wiimote at the sensor bar should fix this.

Overall, this extension adds some useful information to the wiimote, albeit still flawed, which can offer extra accuracy for games like Zelda, Virtua Tennis and the like. In practice, the extra technology isn't noticed a great deal by the user and I would only be tempted to buy this add-on if you had some games in mind that already wanted to play, I found that I use the extension very little and that it often drifts for me.

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A perfect addition to the accuracy of the Wii Remote, but under-supported with games.

Sometimes you don't realise that a product is missing something until you actually have it, then you wonder how the original product was ever without it. This can be said for the Wii Remote and Wii Motion Plus.

When originally announced, the Wii Remote could only detect particular movements, however, the addition of the Wii Motion Plus allows the most precise motion to be detected. This is particularly handy when it comes to games which require that extra precision.

Before, a sword-fighting game could be fooled into thinking you'd swung the Wii Remote simply by shaking it - the remote wasn't clever enough to be able to think you'd done otherwise. With the addition of the Wii Motion Plus, your motion is detected no matter where you move. Swing your arm in a circle, and this will be replicated on screen; swipe diagonally from top-left to bottom-right and it will also show on screen.

Wii Motion Plus has unfortunately been quite under-utilised when it comes to games that support it - noticeable ones are The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Wii Sports Resort and Red Steel 2 - but once you use the attachment, you'll realise the controller should have contained it right from thr start.

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See review

This little gadget makes the Wii console more fun.

The gadget attaches itself to the bottom of the Wii remote and it picks up your hand movements better than a standard Wii remote. I find the process of setting up the accessory to be simple, easy and quick. It attaches securely and it's easy to remove if you need to remove it. It makes gameplay more fun and you actually NEED the accessory to play certain games (i.e sports resort and Tiger Woods golf). The accessory is white in colour so it blends in with your Wii remote, it doesn't look out of place at all in fact. I find that the accessory picks up some of my movements but some are left out. I found this a little frustrating as the accessory itself is meant to pick up your EXACT movements, so why does it pick up some and not others?

It has its faults but it is needed for some games so I would recommend it. Beware of fakes as some fakes are circulating eBay at the moment. I would suggest buying your accessory from an official Nintendo retailer. They range from around £15 to £20 depending on where you buy it from. It's not too expensive in price but each player will need their own motion plus, so if you're a family of four wanting to play together it could become expensive.

Not a bad accessory to the Wii. At least we can play two player table tennis and swordplay...

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A great but expensive accessory!

Wii Motion Plus Sensor

The Wii Motion Plus Sensor is an accessory for the Nintendo Wii Remote designed to pick up movement of the Wii remote more accurately than when the Wii remote is used alone.

I first experienced using the Wii Motion Plus Sensor when I purchased the Wii Sports Resort game. The game came bundled with a Wii Motion Plus Sensor as this game cannot be played without the accessory.

The Wii Motion Plus Sensor isn't really a lot to look at, it is a small white block which has a connector port sticking out the top of it for where it attaches to the Wii remote through the same port that you plug the nunchuk into. On the sides of the Wii Motion Plus there are 2 grey buttons which are used in securing the accessory along with the grey locking clip on the reverse. On the bottom there is a port for attaching the nunchuk and this is covered by a small white clip which needs to be unhooked to insert the nunchuk controller.

The set up of a Wii Motion Plus Sensor is quite easy. You simply need to insert the Wii Motion Plus Sensor into the bottom of the Wii remote. On the side of the Wii Motion Plus there are two grey push buttons, as you insert the Motion Plus into the Wii remote you need to press these buttons in and then release them to clip the Motion Plus into place. On the back of the motion plus is a small grey slider switch, this needs to be pushed up into the 'Lock' position to ensure the Motion Plus is secure and cannot be pulled or knocked out of place.

To remove the Motion Plus you simply need to unlock the secure clip and press the grey buttons on the sides again to release the accessory. Make sure that you do unlock the clip and always press the buttons as simply pulling the accessory out can damage the port that it plugs into.

If you need to use a nunchuk in a game involving a Motion Plus then the nunchuk simply plugs into the bottom of the Motion Plus in the same way that it does to the Wii remote.

I personally enjoy playing games using the Wii Motion Plus, I don't have many games that require the motion plus, but the main one I do have is Sports Resort. When I first heard of the Wii Motion Plus I was quite sceptical as I thought that the Wii remote was already really good at sensing movement and reflecting your actions in the game play, however after playing bowling on the original Wii Sports with just the Wii remote and then playing bowling on the Wii Sports Resort with the Wii Motion Plus I could really see the difference. In Wii Sports Resort you bowling ball seems to be a lot more accurate when you release it and things like the spin and angle that you swing the Wii remote at are reflected more accurately as the ball rolls down the alley.

If you play your Wii using a Wii remote cover to protect your Wii remote you will still be able to do this as the motion plus comes complete with a Wii remote cover that is larger and has a special extra part for the motion plus. I personally don't play using the cover but I have fitted the motion plus together with the Wii remote and the cover in the past and it is really easy to do, I found the best way is to fit the motion plus and then put the cover on rather than put the motion plus in the cover first and then add the Wii remote afterwards as the instructions sheet tells you to.

** Price and Availability **The Wii Motion Plus is widely available both in games shops and online. They are quite expensive for what they are, I remember when I purchased my second one it was around £20 and at the moment they are £14.99 on play.com.

I have referred to the Wii Motion Plus as being white in colour as this is the one that I own, but they are available in other colours to match the coloured Wii remotes.

** Would I Recommend the Wii Motion Plus? **Yes I would recommend the Wii Motion Plus if you have the games to use it with. It isn't needed with every Wii game and unless it is a specific accessory for the game it wont have any effect on the game play. It is an expensive accessory, but if you have the original Wii remotes then it will end up being a necessary accessory. If you are intending on buying new Wii remotes then I would recommend buying the Wii remotes that have the Wii Motion Plus Sensor built into them, they are a little more expensive, but they look better and cost less than a Wii remote and a Wii Motion Plus bought separately.

Thanks for reading :)

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A great gadget.

Now that the Playstation and Xbox have brought out new gadgets which are designed to compete with the Wii's motion detection design, the standard is higher, and the original Wii console occasionally looks a little insensitive when compared with the Kinnect. I have noticed now, though, that the Wii console - or to be specific the remote, comes with the Motion Plus attachment already built into the product. However, if you own an older version of the machine, like I do, you won't already have this, so it's worth thinking about whether it's important enough to upgrade to.

-ooo- The Product -ooo-

This is basically just a small square attachment which fixes onto the bottom of your Wii remote. You have to snap it on, and it automatically picks up the extra gadget. What it does is to increase the sensitivity of the Wii remote, so that your movements are much more accurately recorded on screen. This is a really big improvement, even though the difference is in some cases quite small. You buy the Wii remote separately, and you can get it in white or black, the colours of the Wii remote. In terms of design it looks very similar to the rest of the console, a glossy type of plastic that is simple looking and clean in design.

-ooo- Would I Recommend? -ooo-

I think this is a real improvement on the basic Wii remote, and you can see the difference it makes really clearly. The movements you make are really picked up on screen, and even slight little movements can be replicated - this is really noticeable when you're playing a golf game, as you can see the gentle movements of the golf club as you line up your shot. I also really like it when you're playing table tennis, as you can add a lot of spin and slice onto your shots. It's really satisfying and adds more realism to the way you play the game. It is also really important for all other sorts of games, but these are the ones where I notice it the most.

Overall, I think that if you play a lot of games on the Wii, this is an essential purchase as it makes a real difference to the way you play the games, and improves the quality of them - it can be frustrating if your movements aren't picked up on screen, and using this gadget means it happens much less. Also, it's really easy to fit onto the remote and can be protected with the larger version of the jacket, so it doesn't change the way you use the Wii except for the better.

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Essential

The superb Nintendo Wii console motion plus controller attaches easily and satisfyingly to any Nintendo Wii remote controller to heighten the levels of accuracy and precision during gameplay. The Nintendo Wii motion plus system facilitates the accurate simulation of many sports manoeuvres, in-game twists, turns, impacts and jolts, thus leading to a more realistic gaming experience. i have thus far used it to great effect in Tiger Woods Golf, Table Tennis on Sports Resort, and Fifa. I know it can seem daunting and rather annoying to keep shelling out for extras for the Wii, but this is one accessory gadget that is absolutely worth the small expense. The extra physicality the motion plus brings to the Wii is a really attractive prospect and an idea whose simple genius is matched in practical use. Many games would feel naked and stark without the motion plus, so for under £15 it is really a no-brainer.

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The Nintendo Wii Motion Plus is a small cube-shaped appendage which attaches to the jack at the bottom of the Wiimote in order to improve the accuracy and precision of the translation of your motion to the on-screen actions.

The first game which required this accessory was the Wii Island Sports Resort and the two add-ons came in the box containing the game. If you so wish, it is possible to purchase extra Wii Motion Plus add-ons for use with more than two Wiimotes and these typically retail for under £15.

Nintendo claim that these accessories significantly improve the responsiveness and accuracy of the Wiimote action which is fairly hard to distinguish from the games where they are not used. In my opinion, the control in other Wii games is just as good and precise and any benefit seems to be somewhat artificial.

One positive aspect is the fact that you do not have to remove the Motion Plus accessories in order to play those games where they are not required apart from if you are using the Wiimote together with some kind of a holder - eg. the steering wheel.

Overall, the Motion Plus accessory seems to do two things - make the Wiimote chunkier & heavier and more annoying to use with other games. The fact that it enables you to play a lot of very good games is a bonus, but you just wonder why Nintendo did not think to include this extra functionality within the original controls.

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Wii Motion Plus

Wii Motion Plus

The Wii Motion Plus is an accessory for the Wii console. The Wii Motion plus is designed to improve the movements you make while playing the Wii. The Motion Plus translates those movement more accurately into the game that you are playing. This can be a game of tennis or any other kind of game.

The first game where the Wii Motion plus was primarily created for was the Wii Sport Resort but currently you have more games where you can use the Wii Motion Plus. In some stores or online shops you get this with a game like the Wii Sport Resort but you can also buy it separately. We got it with the game.

Wii Motion Plus is very easy to attach to the Wii controller. As with the Nunchuk you just click it onto the back of the Wii controller. When you order the Wii Motion plus you also get a protective silicone for when you connect the Wii Motion plus to the Wii controller. You also have on the bottom a hole where you can connect other accessories such as the Nunchuk. Before playing the Wii have to calibrate the Motion Plus and you have to place the remote on a flat surface for about 20 seconds. It doesn't happen a lot but it can be a little bit annoying.

The Motion plus itself feels really great and I have a firm grip and the rubber feels really nice. I also do notice a different while playing for example tennis and notice that the movements are slight smoother so it does make playing a game more fun. It's just annoying that you have to buy something like this to make the movements better because it feels like it's more a basic that you shouldn't pay something extra for. The price for the Wii Motion Plus is 15 pounds.

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I wouldn't buy it again.

You get the motion plus accessory when you buy wii sports resort. you can buy it on its own but it is only really used with that game so there isn't much point unless you have the game.

It is a small plastic square that has a plug on it to attach to the wii remote. You plug it in and push down a little switch that locks it in to place. It is suppost to enhance gaming and make the wii remote more accurate when you use it.

It makes the remote a bit bigger but it doesn't make it heavy or uncomfortable to hold. I have noticed that when I am holding the wii remote for a long time in the same position the join between the remote and the motion plus attachment can irritate and rub on my hand. This doesn't really bother me with other games where you move your hand around a lot.

I think that it works well with the sports resort games. Many of the games can't be used without the motion plus accessory so it's hard to tell wether it is the motion plus that makes the game play well, or if it is just a good game.

It is really annoying that the games can only be played with motion plus because this means that you not only have to buy the game but you have to buy up to 4 of these accessories. When the game costs about £25-30 then the motion plus costs at least £10 each it really adds up. To me, it seems more like a cunning plan to get us to part with our money than a really useful accessory.

If it could be used with more games then it might be a bit more useful but because it is it's limited to a just a few then it's not worth the extra money.

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dissapointing

The Nintendo Wii Motion Plus Accessory is designed to give your remote true 1:1 accuracy. This means your movements made off screen will be made perfectly accurately on screen.

Does it work? Well to some extent movement are more accurate, but that doesn't mean that gaming is going to be given a new level of realism. After having played the latest virtua tennis with the wii motion plus I soon saw myself making some of the same flicking of the wrist motions I was using before. While I must admit the flicking motion isn't quite as easy as before, and do sometimes have to stretch my arm out, for the most part a flick of the wrist will suffice. Motion plus can make some game better, for example in virtua tennis the style of play is very different. Without the motion plus you aim using a bar above the player, but with motion plus you can play aiming is much more free as there is no bar and it based on the movement you make. But like I said these movement become less exaggerated, and too basic once you get used to itI think this is because of the way the wii works. The wii only knows where the infra-red at the top of the wii remote is, and as long that part of the remote makes the movement required then that what you do with the rest of your body doesn't matter. You can play a game of tennis sitting on your sofa, which isn't what the wii was meant to be about. At least that's what I thought.

Also a lot of games don't actually require the motion plus, you will have to check with any game or own or are planning on owning to see whether it uses the motion plus add on. It may not be worth the purchase if none or hardy any of the games you own use it.

applying it the the remote is very simple. The motion plus is just clicked into the slot where the nunchuk controller, and then the nunchuk can then be plugged into the motion plus if you need to use it. Once don't the wii will automatically realise it is on and you may have to select that you are playing using the motion plus on the game you are playing.

At a price of just under £15 I think it is quite expensive. I reason think this is because I believe that what the motion plus does is make the wii do what it promised to do in the first place, but now you have to play extra for it. Also if you have more than one control you may need to buy more than one motion plus if you want to use it for multiplayer.

Overall I think that the motion plus is noting special. I brought this mainly for tennis and found that my movement became too simple. I think it will work better in sword game where the remote better represent the shape of a sword. However I think it isn't enough of an improvement on the remote by itself to be worth the extra money, especially since the wii was meant to do it in the first place.

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Every Wii user should purchase one

With the release of the Nintendo Wii it gathered alot of publicity due to it being the first console that users can actually feel like they are playing the game. Once you have played the Wii a few times you will know that the Wii controllers tend to lack a bit of accuracy at times. This was a problem because it meant the controller could lose control whether you are controlling it or not. When they released the Wii Motion Plus it was on the market to make the controls on the Wii alot more secure and stable for users.

Price

The price for the Motion Plus is only around £12-£15 which for what it does is very good. Obviously if you had more than one controller then you would have to purchase more than one of these. Still though when you take into account it will definitely improve the control of the game you feel that it is a good price to pay. Now it is on the market I believe that it is a must.

Description

The motion plus is just a simple device that will fit on the bottom of the Wii controller. It is designed to add far more detail and accuracy to how you play the game. People considering to purchase this also need to take into account that this will only work on the newer games. The older games will not feel the benefit of the extra accuracy that this will provide to the game.

Results

Overall I believe that the control on the game is far better when this is added. Even though it does tend to drain the battery far quicker than normal it is worth it as the advantages are far greater. I would recommend every person who has a Wii to get this as I think you will find it improves the whole console as a whole.

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My wii-mote feels just like a sword now, swish-swish.

The Wii-Mote has been Nintendo's saviour in this generation of games consoles. After a poor run with the Gamecube, selling Nintendo's brand of gaming to a new audience without compromising their core values was a challenge. Fortunately, Nintendo have never been afraid of a little challenge and they rose to it marvellously with the wii, a cheaper home console aimed with families with a control system that was designed to be inherently fun.

Motion control is the big development of this period in gaming and it's the Wii that has brought this about. With the wii-mote, a fancy gadget looking nothing like a traditional game controller, sword fighting games could involve real sword fighting, shooters would see you blasting away and cocking the gun, the wii-mote reading your every move. It was the concept that sold the wii. Of course, if you own a Wii then you're probably already aware that the reality is somewhat different. While the Wii-Mote is a fun little toy with some interesting ideas, motion control in most big budget games essentially amounts to flicking or shaking the wii-mote instead of pressing a button. Not that great a contribution. While I don't want to knock the wii-mote or the wii, I find both to be innovative ideas; it's only fair to say that there aren't too many games on the console that wouldn't be any different or less fun if played with a traditional controller.

The solution Nintendo has devised is the Wii-Motion Plus. This little accessory is a little cube that slots into the bottom of the wii-mote. Handily including a locking clip, it basically becomes a part of the controller. It doesn't make the console uncomfortable in any way and the weight increase is well balanced. Inside there are a collection of new accelerometers and directional sensors. These, in conjunction with the sensors already included, make the wii-mote far more aware of its position and its movement. The end result is a wii-mote that translates for more complex gestures and movements to the console.

To give you an idea of its accuracy, I'd like to refer back to what I feel was the wii-mote's strongest feature. While its sensors didn't interpret complex positioning, located on the top of the device was an infra-red panel. Working with the sensor bar you placed on your TV, this allowed the wii-mote to function as an incredibly accurate pointing device. This controlled cursors easily as accurately as a mouse or even a laser pointer and was the one area in which the wii-mote functioned beyond expectations. Precise, wireless, button free motion control. Now, Wii Sports Resort, one of the few games built from the ground up for Wii Motion Plus includes an archery game. This game is played, not by pointing the remote at the screen and using the infra-red but by holding the wii-mote upright like a bow and pulling the nunchuck attachment back like an arrow. Careful practice and a lot of effort allows the player to hit a range of targets, develop your skills and you might get that bullseye. Easily as functional as the the infra-red pointer. Essentially what I'm saying is that when you connect the wii motion plus to the wii mote, its awareness and positioning is so perfect that it can be held upright and aimed with the accuracy of a mouse. This is achieved without any of its own visual input. Frankly, I was gobsmacked when I saw what it could achieve and it's a very clever upgrade.

In all probability, the wii motion plus won't be as successful as it deserves to be. It isn't included from the box and so its numbers are always going to be cut, fortunately it is bundled with most games that support it so it won't be driving up costs too much. As it's an optional accessory, we'll never see a great deal of support from developers either. Only Nintendo and real Wii devotees will put the time in. It really does add to the console and while it won't do anything for games without motion plus support, it does open the doors for a lot more interesting games down the line. It's just a pity is wasn't part of the hardware from the start.

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A nice improvement

The 'Motion Plus' accessory for the Wii is a small box that fits onto the back of the remote fairly securely, and increases the sensitivity and control of the remote, supposedly allowing more complex motions.An important thing to note is that some games will not work without it, and it can be attached but wont add anything to other games. So at the beginning when there are few games offering motion plus it can seem like a bit of a waste of money, but I expect that over time many more games will require it for more complicated actions, and the price has been creeping down steadily since they came out.To be honest it is hard to notice as much improvement as promised! Although there is some definite increase in sensitivity, and it is most easily noticed in the tennis games - in the original Wii tennis games you only had to move the remote at the right time and your character would hit the ball, and it was only a contest to see who gets bored first. With motion plus however, there is more technique available as you can more accurately position the ball.Overall the Wii motion plus is a necessary accessory for a growing number of games, and does give an improved depth, but I can't help wondering whether they could not have just built this technology into the remote in the first place.

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Probably only for the Everyday Wii user

I bought this item as part of the Wii Sports Resort Package and have to say it really has made a difference to the motion detection of the Wii Remote. Though the little white box clips onto the bottom of the remote, it still offers the option to connect a nunchuck or other peripheral to the base of it, so you dont have to choose between the two before gameplay.

Motion Plus does add extra accuracy to compatible games, but im not sure if it is vital to have one just yet as there arent too many games which NEED the device, so maybe waiting a while could be a good idea (it may even drop in price)

I have also found that having the Motion Plus attached can be slightly annoying for those who use coloured silocone cases, because the white box on the bottom of the remote becomes fairly obvious when the rest of your remote is blue! But apart from these little niggles this product is definately worth buying if you play a lot of Nintendo Wii Games, otherwise it probably isnt neccesary.

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Product Details

When used with specially designed games, Wii MotionPlus tracks players' movements in finer detail and with greater accuracy than ever before, building upon the innovative wireless function of the motion-sensing Wii Remote controller. Even the slightest twist of the wrist or turn of the body is replicated exactly on the TV screen, allowing users to become even more immersed in Wii gameplay.